新托福口语Task 6向来是令不善开口的中国学生一筹莫展的拦路虎。独立任务可以通过大量练习总结素材和语料，达到有话可说的目的。综合任务中的校园场景，使用的是学生相对熟悉的对话形式，可以通过一定技巧来提高回答水平。综合任务学术课程中的Task 4, 提供了一段阅读文本，起码可以给听力欠佳的同学一个提示，知道lecture的部分要讲述的是什么概念。而Task 6呢？真的是无法可想，毫无技巧可言吗？

 

朗阁海外考试研究中心的通过对多年教学经验的总结以及历年考场实际演练的体会，发现Task 6难则难矣，却并非一座不可攻破的堡垒。下文将就其难点及答题技巧一一做出解析。

 

难点一：话题陌生

 

Task 6的话题与Task 4有近似之处，以心理学、社会学、生物学及经济学内容为主，但是也会出现艺术学、历史学等话题。

 

参加托福考试的学生，以高中生和大学生为主力。对于这些类别的学科，有些比较熟悉，例如经济学中“钱”的概念(TPO 2 what is money?)，但同样是经济学中的内容，广告商所采取的说服顾客购买的策略(TPO 3 in order to sell more products, advertisers will try to make us believe that a product will meet our needs or desires perfectly, even if it is not true.)这一话题，则显得相对陌生。而实际上，Task 6中常常会出现广告营销策略、市场定位等相关的话题，如果学生对此有一定了解，必然会帮助学生对听力内容的理解，其他学科的内容也是如此。

 

因而针对这一难点，解决的方法很简单，拓宽知识面。这听来很泛泛的话，实施起来可以分为这样几个步骤：

 

，TPO 1-34中所有Task 6均要彻底熟悉和练习。

 

第二，关注每场考试的考题回顾以及近段时间的考试机经，将其中Task 6所考到的内容进行梳理。

 

第三，查阅相关概念，扩充内容，组织语言，进行60秒钟的计时叙述练习。

 

以机经这一条为例：

【090118CN】farmer选择desirable feature的品种种植作物。举了例子说，wheat,原来很多成熟的时候都倒在地上，farmer选择那些不倒的继续种。peach原来的果实很小，farmer选择果实大的继续种。问题：举例说明什么是选择性种植。

 

【补充查阅】：

Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans breed other animals and plants for particular traits. Typically, strains that are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is normally done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties, cultigens, or cultivars. The offspring of two purebreed animals but of different breeds is called a crossbreed, and crossbred plants are called hybrids.

 

A cultivar is a plant or grouping of plants selected for desirable characteristics that can be maintained by propagation.

 

A cultigen (from the Latin cultus - cultivated, and gens - kind) is a plant that has been deliberately altered or selected by humans; it is the result of artificial selection.

 

Modern wheat varieties have short stems. Short stems are important because the application of high levels of chemical fertilizers would otherwise cause the stems to grow too high, resulting in lodging (collapse of the stems). Stem heights are also even, which is important for modern harvesting techniques.

 

【参考回答】：

In this lecture, the professor tries to use two example explain the notion of selective breeding. This term refers to the process by which humans breed plants for particular traits that are called as desirable features.

 

One example of this is wheat. In the past, when wheat reached its maturity and was ready to be harvested, some stains would collapse on the ground, resulting in lodging. People deliberately chose those with short stems and not collapsing as for next breeding to reduce the lodging rate.

 

The other example is peach. When it comes to choose which bunch of peaches could be used in next breeding process, people select those big ones over small ones and hope to get better yield.

 

这样的必然跟考场上所听到的内容有所出入，但是大致却是一致的。并且，通过这个过程练习熟练的口语表达，才是练好托福口语的首要任务，至于听力的部分听懂与否，则是听力专项练习时应该着力之处。

 

难点二：抓不住重点

 

Task 6的听力持续时间为90-120秒，总长为250-300词。也就是说，一秒钟要听到2-3个词。有时，还会出现口音不适应或是使用俚语不熟悉，愈发使得听懂Task 6像是不可能完成的任务。然而，与任何考试一样，了解测试意图，攻克此类学术课程话题也是有迹可循的。

 

首先，Task 6文章结构的设置，永远是典型的总分结构。

 

单元型总分结构：即General topic → sub topic (detailed description)。例如TPO 1的Task 6, 讲婴儿的计算能力：

Scientists have learned some interesting things about the intellectual abilities of babies. They say there is evidence that babies as young as five month old can do basic arithmetic: that they can add.（段头两句，非常清楚的表述了General topic是婴儿有计算能力）……the evidence is indirect because……so they devised an experiment where……（紧接着引出了sub topic, 做实验，后面就详述了这个实验是什么，以及这个实验如何说明婴儿有计算能力）

 

这类文章的分述细节通常是一个步骤详细的实验。

 

双元总分结构：即General topic → sub topic 1 (definition1+example1) → sub topic 2 (definition2+example2)。例如TPO 3的Task 6, 讲说服消费者购买某产品的策略：

In advertising, various strategies are used to persuade people to buy products……The strategies they use can be subtle, friendly forms of persuasion that are sometimes hard to recognize.（general topic, 看似友好地说服消费者购买的广告方式）

 

In a lot of ads, repetition is a key strategy.（sub topic 1, 重复）Research shows that repeated exposure to a message even something meaningless or untrue is enough to make people accept it or see it in a positive light.（对“重复”下定义）You’ve all seen the car commercials on TV……this guy is driving around a he keeps stopping to pick up different people……and each time, the narrator says plenty of room for friends, plenty of room for family, plenty of room for everybody. The same message is repeated several times in the course of the commercial. Now the car……is not a very big car at all. But you get the sense that it is pretty spacious. ……what usually happens is that when the statement plenty of room is repeated often enough, people are actually convinced that it is true.（这个冗长的例子无非就是说，汽车广告反复宣称空间大，而实际上空间则并不大，反复的次数多了，受众就觉得确实空间很大）

 

Another strategy they use is to get a celebrity to advertise a product, it turns out that we are more likely to accept an advertising claim made by somebody famous.（sub topic 2, 明星）接着的两句话都是重复这么做的好处。You might have a car commercial that features a well know race car driver. Now it may not be a very fast car, it could even be an in expensive vehicle with a low performance rating. But if a popular race car driver is shown driving it and saying I like my car’s fast. Then people will believe the car is impressive for its speed.（还是汽车广告，请赛车手给经济车型做广告，大家会相信这车真的很快）

 

双元立体总分结构：即General topic → sub topic 1 (suptopic1A: definition1A+example1A / suptopic1B: definition1B+example1B) → sub topic 2 (definition2+example2)。例如TPO 2的Task 6, 讲钱的概念：

So let’s talk about money. What is money? Well, typically, people think of coins and paper bills as money. But that is using a somewhat narrow definition of the term. A broad definition is this: money is anything that people can use to make purchases with. Since many things can be used to make purchases, money can have many different forms.（开篇明义，说明硬币和纸钞是钱的一种，但并不完全如此。可以用于购买的东西都可以称作钱，因此钱的形式有很多种。）

 

Certainly, coins and bills are one form of money.（sub topic 1A, 硬币和纸钞是钱）People exchange goods and services for coins or paper bills and they use this money these bills to obtain other goods and services.（definition1A, 对于硬币和纸钞作为钱的定义）For example, you might give a taxi driver five dollars to purchase a ride in his taxi. And he in turn gives the five dollars to a famer to buy some vegetables.（example 1A, 坐出租车付钱，出租车司机蔬菜付钱）

 

But as I said, coins and bills are not the only form of money under this broad definition. Some societies make use of a barter system.（sub topic 1B, 有些社会采用以物易物的机制）Basically, in a barter system, people exchange goods and services directly for other goods and services.（definition 1B, 解释什么是以物易物）The taxi driver, for example, might give a ride to a farmer in exchange for some vegetables. Since the vegetables are used to pay for a service, by a broad definition the vegetables are used in a barter a as a form of money.（example 1B, 农民用蔬菜换取出租车服务）

 

Now as I mentioned there is also a second, a narrower definition of money, in the United States, only coins and bills are legal tender, meaning that by law, a seller must accept them as payment.（sub topic2, 狭义而言，硬币和纸钞是合法的付款方式）The taxi driver must accept coins and bills as payment for a taxi ride, okay? But in the US, the taxi driver is not required to accept vegetables in exchange for a ride.（举例说明在美国，货币才是合法的付款方式，而不是蔬菜）So a narrower definition of money might be whatever legal tender in a society, whatever has to be accepted as payment.

 

这也是所有类型中信息量大，为复杂的结构。

 

把一段90-120秒的话，缩短到60秒中去，再怎么不善言辞的人也总能找出东西来说。而在解构听力时，不妨就按照上述总分结构来进行。

General Topic 通常在开头部分就交代完毕。常见提示有： 1）设问句。如what is ……? ……is…… 2）转折词。But, however…… 3）句型。What we want to be focus on today is…… Let’s talk…

 

Sub topic 1 Lecture的第二段开头，通常只有一句话的长度。 紧跟着的就是对这个sub topic进行的定义

 

Sub topic 2 Lecture的第三段开头，通常只有一句话的长度。 紧跟着的就是对这个sub topic进行的定义

 

以TPO 2为例，记笔记时，便可以记下这样的逻辑结构：

General Topic: what is money Key words: sometimes untrue; subtle; friendly persuasion

 

Sub topic 1: repetitions Definition: repeated message; meaningless or untrue; make people accept Example: roomy car; plenty of room; actually small; people think roomy

 

Sub topic 2: celebrity Definition: famous people; believe Example: race car driver; not fast car; impressive speed

 

 

难点三：语言组织

 

首先是听力内容已经大致掌握的情况下，语言的组织应遵从以下几个要求。

 

，语言的使用没有明显的语法错误。在对Task 6进行转述时，使用一般现在时即可，不需要特地转换成过去时，避免叙述过程中，尤其是对例子的阐述过程中出现的时态错乱的情况。

 

第二，结构的安排应当有逻辑性。转述时按照总分的结构来进行，每个分论点也是以总分的形式展开。

 

第三，Lecture中的要点全部要涉及，如能按照原话复述，可尽量加入原词原句。

 

按照这样的要求，我们来看一看前文中所说到的TPO 2该如何进行总结。如前所述，对于这样一篇总分总结构的文章，其本质其实还是总分。如果按照原文架构来讲，先说coins和paper bills是money的一种，但广义上的理解是什么。然后再分别讲，硬币和纸钞作为钱；以物易物机制下的钱；后面又回头讲coins和paper bills的法律意义，显得有点杂乱。因此，可以在语言上适当梳理，将本文变为，广义而言的货币，狭义而言的货币。

 

【TPO 2范例】：

In this lecture, the professor talks about the notion of money.

 

As he first explains, under a broad definition, coins and paper bills are not the only form of money because money is anything that people can use to make purchases with. For example, we pay coins and paper bills for a taxi ride. The taxi driver pays vegetables using that coins and bills. But in barter system, which refers to a system where people trades goods and services for other goods and services, the same taxi driver could use the taxi service as a payment for the vegetables he wants from the farmer. And under this circumstance, vegetables are money.

 

Then the professor goes on to demonstrate a narrower definition of money. That is coins and paper bills are the only acceptable payment by law. For example, the taxi driver in previous scenario could only accept coins and bills as the legal payment, not the vegetables offered by the farmer.

 

其中，划横线的部分是听力当中真实出现的词句。

 

其次，在遇到听力中的信息无法理解的情况时，如何巧用语言将时间填满。

 

，出现不熟悉概念时，先用A和B代替，镇定地听完之后，再与题目对照，看看是否有相对应的词。

 

第二，将听到的要点尽可能详尽地复述出来。

 

第三，使用一些填充性语言。

 

以TPO 14为例，同时回顾一下前面所说到的所有技巧。

【听力原文】：

A lot of plant and animals live near the surface of the ocean, and that means there is a lot of food near the surface, because there are a lot of plants and animals to eat. But if you go down to the deepest parts of the ocean, it’s dark and cold. And there is not a lot living down there. So, food is very scarce. So organisms that live down at these great depths have developed special adaptations to help them survive in this environment where food is so hard to find. (General topic)

 

For example, many deep sea organisms have body features that enable them to eat prey that are larger than themselves. (Sub topic 1) A good example, um…… there is a species of eel that has an enormous mouth and a large stomach that’s capable of expanding. And these unusual features allow this eel to eat prey larger than itself. That’s a big advantage because eel eats something big. That’s a lot of food, a lot of nutrition. So the eel can go for quite a while before it has to find food again.

 

Another helpful adaptation in some deep sea organisms is the ability to generate light. And some organisms use that light to help them capture food. (Sub topic 2) For example, there is a kind of fish, called the angler fish. And on its head, this fish has a little structure that produces light that glows in the dark. This little structure, this little light is positioned close to the fish’s mouth. Other fish are attracted to this light, they think it’s something small they can eat. So they swim straight toward it and that brings them close enough for the angler fish to capture them and eat them.

 

在遍听的时候，个例子中所说的eel（鳗鱼）这种动物，以及第二个例子中所说的angler fish（琵琶鱼）可能完全不明白，但这不影响我们按照前述的方法寻找结构抓关键词。

General topic: deep ocean, food, adaptation Sub topic 1: larger (one creature A) Sub topic 2: light (one fish B)

 

假设这些词就是一个学生听懂的全部，如何才能够讲出一个在60秒内但又不离谱的呢？

 

This lecture talks about how animals in the deep sea adapt to find food.

这是大多数学生会说的句子，从语法上讲并无不妥，只是内容略显干瘪。因此开头可以这么说：In this biology lecture, the professor tries to explain how animals live in the deep ocean adapt to find food, because it’s very hard for them to do so. 并没有额外增加什么信息，却将这个简单的句子扩充了许多。

 

接下来的这个句子也是起到扩充内容的作用，There two adaptation methods. To illustrate his points further, he gives two examples.

 

One method is some deep sea animals can eat things larger than themselves. For example, there is a kind of animal, 可是这种动物叫什么，没有背过eel这个单词怎么办？可以直接这么说，I don’t recall the name but says the professor, this animal has a large mouth and a large stomach, so it can eat things larger than itself, something really big. So it can go for a while without eating again.

 

另一个例子也是如此。Another method is to create light to attract other fishes. For example, there is one fish, I think it’s called angler（尽量模仿发音） fish or some kind, it has a special structure on its head to make light. It helps this kind of fish to attract other fishes so it can eat them.

 

这样的一段话称不上完美，用词也非常简单，但是却足以帮助学生弥补听力导致的信息采集不全。当然，朗阁海外考试研究中心的衷心希望考生们能够勤练听写，多背单词，提高听力的水平。但是在考题实在出其不意，话题十分陌生的情况下，采用这样的方法也未尝不可。

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